Exciting Times

I have a lot to note, but first off, a good friend of mine has started a weekly series on You Tube about creativity and courage. Julie K. Rose is a fantastic writer and a terrific video blogger; check out the first episode below….

Watching these clips I was thrilled for Julie’s insights, as well as her bravery, of which she discusses so eloquently in Episode #2. In Episode #3, I was taken aback at how true are her words, in how being vulnerable opens us to compassion. That theme goes hand in hand with what I’ve been reading; Bonhoeffer, by Eric Metaxas. I’ve been working on it for the last couple of weeks, although as I move further into it, I find myself going outside to read, even in the heat. Hard to digest all that the Nazis did unless out in bright sunshine.

Julie speaks about moving beyond where we feel safe; our inner critics are looking out for our best interests, or that’s what they want us to assume. But in facing one of the most evil regimes in history, Bonhoeffer notes how peace isn’t equated to security; in Bonhoeffer’s words, to demand guarantees is to want to protect oneself. In the creative life, there are no absolutes, only the urge to step out of the comfort zone into a realm filled with…. Aha, there’s the spark, the magic, the limitless reach of what could be! Possibilities are rife if only we choose to unfetter ourselves from what is familiar.

In Bonhoeffer’s time, the stakes were so different; freedom from tyranny is hard to conjure, and I certainly didn’t mean to delve into these sorts of waters when I started reading this book. Yet, the same can be said for when I began writing The Hawk. I wasn’t thinking much past a love story with some intangible odds attached. Yet instead of shirking from that idea, I marched on ahead; peace wasn’t on my agenda, but to tell a truth bound in a small bit of fantasy. I’d never written in the genre of magical realism, nor is historical fiction my strength. Again, I needed to forge past misgivings, following my heart. To me, being creative is an action of faith; instead of dwelling in my own shoes, I’ll interpret how another might live.

I’m so pleased to share Julie’s web blog, not only for her valuable insights; I applaud her courage! When the heart’s dictates are followed, great tasks are accomplished, the least not being moving past fear. When fear is demolished, wonderful occurrences take shape, maybe in the guise of stories, perhaps in artwork, but mostly in a peace that encourages the better angels of our natures to flourish.

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2 thoughts on “Exciting Times”

Back to Bonhoeffer again? Interesting. Also timely as I found “Bonhoeffer Abridged – Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy” by the same author, Eric Metaxas in the local ‘Ollies’ for $3.99. I picked it up for hubby and I to read. I admit, I can only take it a little at a time…
Such conviction and integrity…the world could do with a dose of Bonhoeffer-ism right now.
standingfortruthpeace